BY ADRIAN MWANZA
Mukula traders have called on the new dawn government to expedite the verification of Mukula trading after it was banned in 2017 and give Zambians priority.
Ricky Kaona, the former secretary of the committee said that it was unfortunate that the minister had indicated that he had suspended the trading indefinitely.
He was reacting to Green Economy minister Collins Nzovu who indicated that the ban remained in effect indefinitely.
Mr Nzovu said the trade could be done sustainably and be able to adapt to impacts of climate change.
He said the indefinite ban was as a result of irregularities in the issuance of trading licences and that they wanted to normalise the process.
Mr Nzovu said the illegal trade was making government lose millions because the right procedure was not being followed.
The minister pledged that once normalised, they would give all Zambians eligible to trade in the timber without any discrimination whatsoever.
‘Illegal activities in the harvesting and trade of Mukula has had a negative impacts on the economy,’’ he said.
But Mr Kaona said that most traders were stranded and needed to ensure that they completed the process as soon as possible.
He said they were on the brink of becoming destitutes since containers had been impounded by officials.
Mr Kaona said that there was also need to give Zambians priority and not concentrating on foreign entities.
‘’Can you imagine it has not been easy from 2017 we have been waiting and some of us even left our produce in fields because we can’t transport them,’’ he said.
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